Movement for Self-Determination of Kabylie
  • French: Mouvement pour l’autodétermination de la Kabylie
  • Kabyle: Amussu i ufraniman n tmurt n iqbayliyen
LeaderFerhat Mehenni
Founded30 June 2001
HeadquartersParis, France
Ideology
Colors  Blue
  Red
  Yellow
Party flag

The Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK; Kabyle: Amussu i ufraniman n tmurt n iqbayliyen; French: Mouvement pour l’autodétermination de la Kabylie), officially named the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (Kabyle: Afraniman i Tmurt n Yeqbayliyen; French: Mouvement pour l'autonomie de la Kabylie) before 3 October 2013, is a Kabyle nationalist and separatist political organization seeking autonomy, self-determination rights of the Kabyle people, and ultimately independence of the Kabylie region from Algeria. It was founded by the Kabyle Berberist Ferhat Mehenni, now president of the Provisional Government of Kabylie in exile, after the "Black Spring" disturbances in 2001.

Since 2021, the MAK has been classified as a terrorist organisation in Algeria after claims from the Algerian authorities saying that MAK members were planning car bombs. The founder of MAK, Mehenni, is arrested by the French authorities and placed in police custody in 2021 as part of an investigation into organised money laundering in relation to sports betting.[2]

In 2011, a close associate of Ferhat Mehenni and a former senior member of the organisation, Idir Djouder, accused the MAK of receiving funds from Morocco (250,000 euros per month) and criticised its management methods. Idir Djouder uses the term "dictator", he describes his "government" and the content of the meetings as formal with decisions taken "elsewhere".[3]

Algerian authorities accused MAK of ordering the widespread 2021 Algeria wildfires in the region of Kabylia. Five members of MAK were convicted in absentia for involvement in the murder of Djamel Ben Ismail on August 11, 2021. Among the members was the organization's leader, Ferhat Mehenni.[4] On August 26, 2021, Algeria issued an international arrest warrant for Ferhat Mehenni.[5]

On Thursday, May 19, 2022 in Paris, The Kabyle provisional government (Anavad) and the Movement for the self-determination of Kabylia (MAK) presented, the very first draft of the Constitution of what will be the Federal Republic of Kabylia.

MAK claims to speak for the Kabyle people, who express frustration due to the efforts of the Algerian government to assimilate the remaining Berber ethnic group minorities into the Arabized Berber and Arab majority. The immediate goal of MAK is regional self-determination for the province of Kabylie, which, according to Mehenni, could be the "first step towards a Kabyle, Berber State".

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Algeria arrests members of MAK separatist group after attacks". Reuters. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Algérie : pourquoi Ferhat Mehenni, chef du MAK, a été entendu par la police française – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  3. ↑ "Soutien financier secret du Maroc à Ferhat mehenni". Djazairess. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  4. ↑ "49 people sentenced to death for mob killing in Algeria". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2022-11-25. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  5. ↑ L’Algérie lance un mandat d’arrêt contre le chef du MAK, Ferhat Mehenni
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